NANAIMO — They came, they lifted and they conquered.
A small group of lifters from the Nanaimo and Oceanside region competed at the Canadian Powerlifting Union National Championships, held in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan between Feb. 23 and Mar. 1.
Among the group was Margot Croft, who set a new provincial record for her Female Master Three category in the squat lift, while also finishing first in the bench press category.
She told NanaimoNewsNOW representatives from all 10 provinces were among the 600 to 700 participants which created an amazing environment.
“The community is just amazing, everybody is really, really supportive. Of course, everybody wants to win, but we all know how much work it’s taken to actually get to the National level and so, we’re cheering just as hard for our competitor, as anybody else.”
Tyler Ollech, competing in the Male Junior Classic division also placed first in the bench press, and a fifth place finish in his division’s overall competition.
Anthony Dinh finished third in his competition, completing the rare feat of having all nine of his lifts approved by the judges and register for points.
Lifting is incredible technical with specific rules around knee bends during the squat lift in particular. A competitor’s crease at their hip must be below their knees at the start of their attempt.
Ben Willoughby, Mackenzie Cameron and Catherine Nguyen rounded out the local contingent, which included a first place finish for Nguyen in her division.
Croft said it’s easy to get wrapped up in the competition and finishing as high as you can, but at the end of the day lifters are there to prove a lot to themselves.
“The best thing is it’s just you and the bar, because it is just you going out and lifting whatever weight happens to be stacked on the bar. To be pursuing that and to be looking for always improving, because there are always little, teeny, tiny things that you can do that make your lift that much better over time.”
Croft and Ollech are due to compete in Drammen, Norway beginning May 17.
The next major event for local lifters is the Kraken Open in Cedar over the last weekend in April, where over 100 athletes, including para-lifters and some from Special Olympics, will compete.
In addition, the Western Canadian Powerlifting Championships are being hosted in Nanaimo in early October.
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